Green Country Man Crashes Car While High On Synthetic Smokable Drug

Tommy barely survived. He said he hopes his warning will stop others from using these products.

Friday, November 30th 2012, 6:55 pm

By: News On 6

Green Country Man Crashes Car While High On Synthetic Smokable Drug

A Green Country man nearly died the day after Thanksgiving, after smoking Diablo, a synthetic drug sold as smokable incense or potpourri.

He just got out the hospital Thursday, but wanted to share his story.

Tommy barely survived. He said he hopes his warning will stop others from using these products.

He thought, since he bought it at a Tulsa convenience store, it would be safe, but says it was extremely dangerous.

He was driving it the Friday afternoon after Thanksgiving, about an hour after he smoked Diablo.

"I was driving and didn't know I was driving, anymore. I came up to a T and went straight," Tommy said.

He said he just went blank, slammed into a tree, was ejected and landed face-down under the car.

Tommy said he doesn't remember anything until he was being transported to a hospital in a helicopter.

His passenger, somehow, had only minor injuries, but Tommy wasn't quite so lucky.

"Got a broken neck, broken ribs, staples in my head, surgery on my ear, stitches on this side," Tommy said.

He said he'd heard these types products were legal and figured they couldn't be that bad, since it was sold in a convenience store, so he decided to try it.

Online, Diablo is called one of the most potent smokable incenses on the market.

Several people share stories of experiencing a racing pulse, hallucinations, seizures, and losing their memory. Some say they thought they were going to die.

Tommy is urging people not to put themselves at risk, like he did.

"I just have to say, it's not what you think it is. It's dangerous and can hurt you, possibly kill you, like it almost did to me," he said.

Tommy said he is thankful he didn't crash into an innocent person while he was heading down the road, not seeing or hearing anything or having any awareness of where he was.

Several of the chemicals used in synthetic drugs are illegal in Oklahoma. Plus, selling any product with the intent of getting a person high is illegal also.

So far, manufacturers have been skirting around some of our laws, but the state is cracking down. Two stores selling this stuff were busted earlier this week, one in Roland and one in Tahlequah.